Originally posted by stevebrot Neither cameras nor lenses were particularly inexpensive. I have the invoice for my Ricoh XR7 with Pentax-M 50/1.7 around here somewhere. IIRC, I think I paid $225 for the camera with lens in 1982. At the time, I was making a little less than $8.00/hr. The inflation calculator does not accurately reflect relative purchasing power from that time in history. You could get a nice 2 bedroom apartment for $280/mo. According to the calculator that would be less than $700 in 2015 money. ROFL... So consider that a new Pentax ME Super SLR with fast normal lens would be almost a month's rent.
Steve
My first K body was a Ricoh XR-2 in 1978 for $329 w/50 f/2. Prices in Canada were usually ranging 1/3 or more higher. The Pentax ME and MX I considered then were $299 and $349 for bodies. By 1980 I worked in a camera store and remember quite well some of the prices. ME Super came out at $389 w/50 f/1.7. 28 f/2.8 was $129, 50 f/4 macro $169, and 100 f/4 macro $269. My own Vivitar 90 f/2.8 1:1 I bought for $225 with employee discount. The LX was always $600+ when it first appeared and was my fantasy until just a couple years ago when I finally got a used body in great shape and CLA`d for $225 on line. Back before PCs and Internet my only chance for used equipment was usually newspaper classifieds or a small used section in some camera stores. A group of us from the store and favorite customers swapped and traded among ourselves and deals were found. K28 f3.5 for $125 and K85 f/1.8 for $150 were my favorites. LBA was a common affliction back then too. I spent a couple summers working in an auto factory at about $8/hour and my first apartment in 1982 was $260/mo. Considering inflation in Canada, the going prices for most new photo gear now seems like a bargain compared to the chunk of income top notch cameras and lenses took 30-40 years back.